The group, which re-branded this summer, operates 79 settings across Scotland and England, has been told by East Lothian Council it can no longer deliver the 1,140 funded hours (around 30 hours a week during term time) at its newly acquired nurseries in Haddington and North Berwick.
The council said it had made the decision to withdraw funding for the three Pear Tree nurseries in Haddington and the Pumpkin Patch Nursery in North Berwick, which Bright Stars took over in July this year, as they ‘failed to meet the Scottish Government’s National Standards of Early Learning and Childcare’.
As of 7 October, the nurseries will no longer be able to offer the 1,140 funded hours. The decision is thought to impact more than 150 three and four-year-olds.
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